Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dr Peter Davidson @pagdavidson.bsky.social · 3h

Good facts based piece on immigration.
A rarity these days
www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...

Who really wants a ‘Big Australia’? Ignore the slogans, look at the evidence

Our analysis shows that while both major parties have influenced policy, long-term growth in migration – especially temporary migration – has been driven more by Coalition governments.

www.smh.com.au

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Dr Peter Davidson @pagdavidson.bsky.social · 16h

As the Kiwis generally do

Shane Oliver @shaneoliver.bsky.social · 23h

RBNZ cut 0.5% to 2.5%, due to “prolonged spare capacity” & to boost to spending. Guidance was dovish with the money mkt allowing for 1 or 2 more 0.25% cuts. RBNZ has now cut by more than other major central banks, as it overdid the tightening.
(Macquarie Macro Strategy chart)

Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

Shane Oliver @shaneoliver.bsky.social · 20h

www.amp.com.au/resources/in...

Oliver's insights - Bubble trouble – is AI enthusiasm driving a bubble in shares? - AMP

Rich share market valuations are warning of the risk of a pullback in shares amidst fears of a bubble and it’s possible that enthusiasm for AI has run ahead of itself. But the fundamentals behind this...

www.amp.com.au

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Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

Paul Eric Scannell @pauleric70.bsky.social · 20h

This bird just found out that golf balls bounce on concrete, and he’s having the time of his life 😂

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Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

Alex @purplechrain.bsky.social · 22h

ICE shooting an unarmed priest in the head from a rooftop, at a distance where the unarmed priest couldn’t have posed a threat to them even if he had tried.

Kurt @flglchicago.bsky.social · 1d

Here’s video of the incident

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Dr Peter Davidson @pagdavidson.bsky.social · 17h

Sack more people and all will be good, according to the Economist

The Economist @economist.com · 18h

The difficulty of firing staff—a reality of corporate life—steers Europe’s biggest firms away from making risky bets in innovative fields. This is catastrophic for the continent’s economy

How Europe crushes innovation

Labour rules devised in the 20th century are hobbling Europe in the 21st

econ.st

Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

Joseph Rowntree Foundation @jrf-uk.bsky.social · 18h

Everyone deserves a decent affordable home, work that gives us enough to get by on, and where we all have enough to afford the bills.

Politicians can make the right decisions today to build a better future for us all 🗣️

Read our report: www.jrf.org.uk/poverty-in-scotland-2025 3/3

Poverty in Scotland 2025

Poverty is still too high, people are feeling overlooked and ignored by politicians — the next Scottish Parliament is vital for a better future for children in Scotland.

www.jrf.org.uk

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Dr Peter Davidson @pagdavidson.bsky.social · 21h

Panantir
The evil eye

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 1d

ICE will reportedly hire contractors to surveil social media platforms 24/7 to target people for deportations.

The information would then be funneled into an existing ICE database built by Palantir (founded by Trump ally Peter Thiel).

"The party of small government,” folks.

Dr Peter Davidson @pagdavidson.bsky.social · 1d

Here we go again. Another patch up job for chronic skills shortages via temporary visas. This will only degrade job quality in care services & discourage ppl from work there.
These are *longterm* skills shortages. Solutions are training & permanent migration.

www.ceda.com.au/news-and-res...

Australia needs an essential skills visa to fix the aged-care worker shortage

www.ceda.com.au

Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 6d

Crimson Rosella in the late afternoon sun.
#birds

Photograph of a small bright red parrot with blue and black wings and tail feathers, and blue cheeks. It is perched on a twisty eucalypt branch with out of focus leaves and sky in the background. The bird is facing the sun, which is creating a hilight in the bird's eye.

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Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

Michael Klapdor @mklapdor.bsky.social · 5d

e61 Chief Executive Michael Brennan writing on the decline in cash transfer spending and the rise in spending on in-kind benefits. Expresses concern at a shift away from means-testing toward universal supports.
Does not discuss poorly targeted tax concessions. www.afr.com/politics/fed...

Screenshot of AFR article text:
'Here is a stark fact: while the size of government has grown since the late 1970s and early 1980s, the amounts spent by government on direct cash transfers – to pensioners, the unemployed and low-income families – is actually lower as a share of GDP than it was then. Bigger government is not due to rising welfare dependency.

It is due to the significant expansion of in-kind services: areas such as health, aged care, childcare and NDIS, where government pays for services on our behalf. Research by e61 and UNSW shows that these in-kind social assistance benefits rose from 0.8 per cent of GDP in the 1960s to 6.8 per cent today.'

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Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

The Australia Institute @australiainstitute.org.au · 8d

All the key economic data supported another interest rate cut, which would have given them much-needed relief after three years of pain.

@grogsgamut.bsky.social describes the decision as “very cruel”, ensuring more pain for those struggling with high mortgage repayments and more job losses. #auspol

RBA banks on higher unemployment, more pain

Today's decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep interest rates on hold will force more Australians into unemployment and, ultimately, into poverty.

australiainstitute.org.au

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Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 9d

It certainly appears the United States murdered an innocent fisherman who was a husband and father to four children, claimed he was a "narco-terrorist," posted a video of the execution, and then made jokes about it

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Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

Helen Barnard @helenbarnard.bsky.social · 8d

New vlog👇The hottest topic at #LabourPartyConference is whether the PM will announce scrapping the cruel & counterproductive 2 child limit in his speech today. Here’s why he should ⬇️ @trusselluk.bsky.social

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Dr Peter Davidson @pagdavidson.bsky.social · 8d

'That structural challenge involves climbing spending commitments that have to be met with an ever-rising tax take, the burden of which increasingly falls on younger workers.'
Not so: young peoples' share of income tax has declined over the last 3 decades.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Jim Chalmers’ budget victory lap outpaces reality as Australia’s debt continues to climb

The treasurer celebrated an outcome that could have been worse, but a structural challenge remains as workers are left with the burden of repair

www.theguardian.com

Dr Peter Davidson @pagdavidson.bsky.social · 9d

‘Unemployment still too low for RBA's comfort’
This heading summarises all that’s wrong with current monetary policy settings.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

One 'noisy' number taking a rate cut off the table

With markets pricing next to no chance of an interest rate cut today, what are the chances of another RBA move before year's end?

www.abc.net.au

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Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

Dr Liz Allen @drdemography.com · 10d

What is it with privileged, powerful people in this country?! They appear to assume the rules simply don’t apply to them. And in so many respects the rules aren’t applied to them. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Anti-corruption chief kept consulting role after saying he had resigned

The head of the national anti-corruption commission told a Senate inquiry he had resigned his role at the defence force's investigative arm. But the ABC has learned he continued consulting for them, a...

www.abc.net.au

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Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 10d

Little tip: if you want to know what is wrong with Australia's tax system, just read the wealth advice column in the AFR:

"If you sell a property resulting in surplus cash to invest, there’s no better place than the low/no-tax environment of superannuation."

The one-time strategy wealthy Australians use to get more into super
Colin Lewis Contributor
Sep 25, 2025 – 5.00am

If you sell a property resulting in surplus cash to invest, there’s no better place than the low/no-tax environment of superannuation.

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Dr Peter Davidson @pagdavidson.bsky.social · 12d

Spot on.
The Australian economy has been mired in mediocrity for a decade.
We can't boost investment & productivity coz growth is throttled, we can't have growth coz people worry about low productivity.
And so it goes .. the cycle of mediocrity.
www.theguardian.com/business/gro...

Australia, along with other OECD countries, is mired in mediocrity – and the RBA seems intent on keeping us there | Greg Jericho

If the Reserve Bank won’t drop interest rates next week, it will be another example of one of our institutions aiming low

www.theguardian.com

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Dr Peter Davidson @pagdavidson.bsky.social · 15d

All true but the ppl who need the pension most are the ones forced to retire early. People with disabilities, carers, ppl with low quals who lost jobs & can’t get another.
Many languishing on Jobseeker.
www.smh.com.au/business/the...

More Boomers are choosing not to retire. Why? They don’t want to

One in four 70-year-old men are still working, up from one in ten 20 years ago. And about 10 per cent of men in their late 70s are still working.

www.smh.com.au

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Dr Peter Davidson @pagdavidson.bsky.social · 15d

Ironic and worrying that their first target is antifascism.

Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 16d

Also they'll use it to take away the tax exempt status of NGOs.

Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

Glen Le Lievre @lelievre.bsky.social · Sep 7

It's the black death Charlie Brown

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Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

Barbara Pocock @barbarapocock.bsky.social · 15d

The RBA quoted Treasury's own modelling when criticising the 5% deposit scheme, saying it will only bring forward a greater number of purchases while not increasing the supply of houses. That's straight from the government's own numbers.

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Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

Resolution Foundation @resfoundation.bsky.social · 15d

The growth of National Insurance over time makes it more important than ever to worry about its design.

Read 'Call of duties' now, to learn why we propose switching 2p from National Insurance to Income Tax 👉 buff.ly/uLWun7f

chart showing Changes in tax revenue as a share of GDP, relative to 1948: UK

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Reposted by Dr Peter Davidson

Resolution Foundation @resfoundation.bsky.social · 15d

And please read the full report by Adam Corlett:

Call of duties: Revenue and reform for Autumn Budget 2025

www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...

Call of duties • Resolution Foundation

Ahead of the Budget, this report considers the options for the Government to respond decisively to a deterioration in the public finances while also making the tax system fairer and more efficient.

www.resolutionfoundation.org

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